At a very young age, Paulo Afonso de Resende witnessed the production of coffee, when he was observing his father working in the fields in order to provide for the family. After a long and successful career as an engineer in Belo Horizonte, Paulo Afonso purchased Fazenda Santa Clara in 1993 and thus fulfilled a dream. He started a new chapter as a coffee grower, leading him back to his childhood memories.
As he began planting his first plots, he did not have much prior knowledge in agriculture. The support of agronomists and other experts as well as the experience of his employees were crucial. Without good teamwork and organization, his endeavor would have failed immediately. Over the years, Fazenda Santa Clara has made a name for itself and today, the farm is well-recognized in the region and beyond for producing high-quality coffee using sustainable farm practices. The region of Campo das Vertentes is situated between two important water basins in Minas Gerais state. Thanks to the fertility of the soils and the abundance of water, agriculture arrived soon after the first settlers did. Coffee cultivation can be traced back to 1860.
The green coffee reaches us by way of Sancoffee, a coffee cooperative and exporter who is deeply rooted in the region and puts an emphasis on supporting growers to produce high-quality coffee in a consistent and responsible way. They rely on long-term relationships, just like we do, and though it has been three years since we first bought coffee through Sancoffee, we have met several times and it certainly feels like we have been working together for a longer time already.
In 2020, Sancoffee, a certified B Corp, measured and compensated the CO2 emissions of their warehouse and offices and became the first CO2-neutral coffee cooperative of the country. They didn't stop after that and carried out a project to analyze the emissions on two of the coffee farms they work with. Both farms, a small one and a bigger one, turned out to be CO2-negative, meaning they absorb more CO2 than they emit. They repeated the analysis for the remaining 18 partner farms and today, all of them – including Fazenda Santa Clara – are CO2-negative. The calculations include coffee cultivation, processing, packaging, storage as well as transportation to the port and were verified and certified by an independent, European company.
This espresso roast is beautifully round and balanced. Milk chocolate dominates the flavor profile, alongside a light orange note and nuances of hazelnut. All of this is accompanied by a great deal of sweetness, making us think of cane sugar or even nutella. Thanks to the balance, plenty of sweetness and a round, pleasant body, this coffee is an ideal single-farm coffee for everyday drinking. We particularly recommend this coffee to coffee drinkers who prefer coffee with not too much acidity.
